Delaware Infringments

[Guest colrmccoll]

FYI, if in Delaware:

Database "superchecks" by Delaware police may be illegal

By Julian Sanchez | Published: December 01, 2008 - 12:23PM CT

Delaware's Firearms Transaction Approval Program is supposed to provide a kind of one-stop shop for legitimate gun dealers who need to perform quick background checks on their customers, simultaneously scanning the electronic databases of the state's DMV, courts, and mental health agency.

But Wilmington's News Journal dug up evidence that, since 2001, state troopers have also been making "supercheck" queries, mostly to confirm that people they encounter are eligible to possess firearms. Police say this is ordinary due diligence, but the report suggests that the checks might skirt federal rules that protect mental health records.

Unfortunately, the article is vague on a few key points. It's not clear precisely what information is made directly available to officers: If it's just a binary "yes" or "no" answer to the question of whether the person is legally barred from possessing a firearm, it's hard to see any very serious privacy harm. If they're getting details of people's medical histories, obviously, that's another matter entirely.